C The Neighborly Thing To Do [w/ Bhdire8]

[Cake]

A closed roleplay between myself and Bhdire8.

The apartment was quiet and calm, but Brooke was far from relaxed. A month ago he would have been relieved, finally past the stage where his body decided to switch into shut down mode and force wave after wave of sleepiness upon him without warning. That had been brutal during his work hours as a waiter, but apparently a common aspect of the first trimester. Those days were fading quickly behind him. He shifted on the bed again, his growing baby bump hefting with the motion as he sought some comfortable position on the spineless, second-hand mattress.  This was his day off, one of the few days he hadn't been able to beg anybody for a shift, so he was giving his feet a much needed rest.

The back of his mind was a buzz of worry, though. He couldn't really afford to be lying here, relaxing. There was no one coming home to him, no one to chastise him for the dollar-store frozen dinner that was going to get him through tonight. No one to tell him that it was too cold in here. No one to help pad the expenses of doctor visits and his pre-natal vitamins and the two cribs he needed to buy and the diapers and the baby clothes that wouldn't last a month, and the, and the, and the...

It was all so much.

There was another expense he was worrying about, too, and that was supposed to be coming in the mail today. The thought of it made his ears turn a delicate shade of rose pink, his eyes searching out familiar words on the page so he could distract himself, but it didn't work. It wasn't a sex toy, he insisted to himself again. It was medicinal! Just to help stretch him a little, which the doctor had seemed rather worried about when he'd done his last examination. Apparently there could be complications if he didn't help his body open some before the birth, and when the doctor had asked if Brook wasn't having the usual increase in sexual appetite, Brooke had nearly swallowed his own tongue in embarrassment. Who exactly was he supposed to be having sex with, even if he was having those...urges? Certainly not the one who'd made him like this. He didn't know his name or his face, only the taste of the alcohol kisses they'd shared. Brook had let his trepidation and nervousness go for one moment, and that moment that led to these two new lives making his womb heavy and sore.

But Brook had done what he had to do, the same as he had through all of this ordeal, and bought the...device. It really wasn't a dildo! And it wasn't here yet, he realized. That seemed odd, given the time. Maybe it would be delayed and he wouldn't have to worry about it until tomorrow...

[bhdire8]

Steve had just come back.from.his daily jog and, much to his surprise, found a package in his mail. It was in a box. The address was so badly written he couldnt distinguish the letter behind the "Flat". He shook his head and decided perhaps the postman had managed this time, despite numerous failed attempts before, in deciphering addresses. He.would have to.open it to derermine what's inside and who's the recipient anyway.

The doctor had maintained a modest lifestyle, this.flat had been his dorm years ago, and remained to be his residence after he graduated and got his own clinic. He quite fancy the quiet neighborhood, and compared with others, people around this area are friendly and close.

Bringing the box back inside.of.home, he went past the doorway of his.neighbor. technically they werent really friends, but the postman had done enough amount of mixed up that he had come to.know Brook in some ways. He quite like his neighbor, quiet and reserved, even though he sometimes would return late at night, understandable with his profession, he tried to.keep as quiet as he could. He had always been alone though, and Steve knew enough to keep his mouth shut on these topics. Sometimes they would bump into each other, and the smaller man would smile timidly at him, and he had always wondered why would someone as cute as Brook was to still.be single.

It then dawned on him after witnessing his belly ballooning up. Brook wasnt single, at least, he wasnt always single. He noticed the signs and with his trained eyes, he guessed Brook must be around 5 to 6 months, despite how big he had gotten already. Must have been multiples, perhaps twins? His mind wandered as he started unwrapping the box - and was stunned. He picked up thr dildo... or more professionally known as the "birth assisting tool", could only be ordered by one man - his neighbor. He cleared his throat and placed the merchandise back into the box, and groaned inwardly for how awkard this is going to.be. he glanced at the package and confirmed his.suspicion as well - his young.neighbor must have mixed up the order, which means he had an even more awkward lecturing he needed to give.

[Cake]

Brook did like the predictable things about living here (and it upset him that he would soon have to move; the rent here was no longer an option for him). One of those predictable things was hearing his neighbor come back from his daily jog. The muffled footsteps that went down the hallway and the quiet shudder of the wall as the door shut. Brook didn't know much about him except for his routines of coming and going during the day, and that he was nice whenever they had to trade polite words in the elevator or swap mail. But if Steve was already coming back from his jog, then either the mailman had an incident or the package simply wasn't coming today. That was fine by Brook. He could breathe his first sigh of relief for the day--a sigh of relief that was interrupted by a knock at his door.

So much for that.

His heart pitter-pattered like a hummingbird's against his ribs. He lurched tentatively to his feet, getting his center of gravity under him as he waddled toward the door.  Standing up revealed the full impact of his condition. Brook had ever-been the shortest in his class, always the scrawny kid that didn't gain weight. He was a carrier, though, and his stature never bothered him even when his classmates started filling out with their birthing hips and long legs. He was just tiny, and some boys seemed to like that. Now his body was suffering for it as it tried to make room for his babies. At first he'd managed to hide under his usual style of oversized sweaters, but now those sweaters were barely fitting him; they hugged the pronounced jut of the round, awkward belly that had no place on his tiny frame. Most people looked lovely when carrying, Brook had always thought so. So full and warm. On him, he thought his belly looked cumbersome and misplaced. A strip of skin already showed beneath the band of the sweater he wore today. He'd be in different clothes by the month's end, if his wallet agreed with him.

It was this midriff obstacle that delayed his getting to the door, not just his nervousness as he pulled open the door, one hand resting on his belly. "Sorry--" he started, a faint blush already in his cheeks, when he locked eyes with someone who definitely wasn't the mailman. Steve? He opened the door a little more, his gaze falling with comical slowness to the package held in his neighbor's hands. The open package. Brook's mouth dropped open, eyes wide. Alarm bells rang through his head, washing out all other sound and thought as mortification manifested as physical knot in his throat.  

"I-I...you--...that's..."






                                 

[bhdire8]

His neighbor was almost a good feet shorter than him, and sometimes Steve worried for.him. as a carrier, Brook was quite small. Granted his bottom was nice and bubbly, bearing all the trademark signs of carriers - not that he particularly checked, he would deny such accusations.wholeheartedly, but his frame in general was small, which led to the babies being carried further out than in usual cases, and threw Brook further off balance. Sometimes Steve would have the overwhelming.urge to just hold the belly for Brook when he waddled alongside with him.down the.corridor, but well, they were only neighbors and that kind of.touch would be way too intimate.

He waited patiently after the knock, knowing Brook probably needed time to.get to the door - if he was here. The slow footsteps confirmed his presence, and with the shuffle of locks he came face to face with his cute neighbor. At this.angle, he could see his belly had grown further from their last encounter - that baggy jacket no.longer able to.cover it. He saw the faint blush building and once again his heart fluttered seeing.how adorable Brook was.

Then his face, and his entire body froze. Steve couldnt help with the chuckle seeing how the blush quickly deepend and spread across his face, even his ears and neck was flushed as he stuttered, unable to form a sentence. "Relax buddy.... i know what this is. It's your birth assisting tool right?" The doctor relieved the pregnant man of some of the explaining. "The, er, the postman had delivered it wrong again, and, er, sorry for.opening it....." he said scratching the back of.his head. "Err, I am a doctor so, i know what this is for. Actually, did your doctor suggested this size to.you, coz..." before he.could finish it, Brook snatched the box from him with surprisingly quick action considering his size.

[Cake]

Steve was saying something. There were definitely words coming out of his mouth. But Brook's mind was a buzz of horror and mortification, through which none of those words could reach. It was the same kind of all-encompassing fear that some people got when confronted with public speaking or heights, the way everything froze up and all thoughts turned inward. He was too busy trying to reach for some kind of damage control to actually acknowledge any of his neighbors kind reassurances, and his brain--functioning on a long delay--finally reached something to say.

"SORRY THAT WASN'T MEANT FOR YOU, THANKS," was all gushed in a single breath as Brooke grabbed the package in his hands, hurled it carelessly inside his apartment, and then slammed shut the door. He slumped down against it. The embarrassment felt tight around his throat, his face scalding and hands shaking. So embarrassing. So, so embarrassing. ...And he'd handled it like a complete idiot, he realized in the minutes after, now that the memory of slamming the door in his neighbors face came back to him. It had seemed like a good option, the only option, in the moment. He winced.

Oh why was he such an idiot?!

Maybe he would have been able to control himself a little better if it had been anyone else, but of course it had to be Steve, who was undeniably Brook's type, and so kind, and seemingly oblivious to the innocent little admiration that Brooke had developed for him. Acting on it was completely out of the question, even before he'd ended up pregnant; now he had pushed those thoughts into the realm of utter fantasy. Sitting there in the aftermath, a few pieces of information stuck out to him. Had Steve mentioned he was a doctor? It seemed so, in his fractured memory. He had definitely known the name of the thing. If only Brook had been functioning like a person at the time...

Maybe moving wasn't such a bad thing after all. He'd never have to look Steve in the eyes again, at least.

Brook sat in the floor for a little while longer, stewing in his own humiliation and working out the logistics of pulling his dumb, pregnant self up off the tile.

[bhdire8]

Steve was stunned, and almost wanted to step forward only to be slammed on the face. He just stood there dumbly as the dusts settled after the bang and looked down on his hands. He tried to recall waht just happened within one second... Brooke snatched teh box, and then somehow just fling it inside his apartmnet, and then.... spoke so fast he wasn't sure what it was aside from the "thanks", and... yep. He was all alone here in the corridor, staring at the tightly shut door of his neighbor. And he still hadn't told him about that size thing....

He sighed and had no other method than to leave. To ring teh doorbell would only cause even more embarrassment. All Steve could wish for was Brooke would at least read the instruction carefully and notice the "size and progressive usage" part. It was always an awkward topic to raise, and in genearl Steve would recommend his patients to just, go with the raging hormones, their body knew exactly what they needed, and it's not like .... He then glanced back one last time at Brooke's door. Perhaps he was, afterall, quite alone then. This realization actually lightened up his mood. He started thinking of ways to just get closer to his neighbor, he had never been so thankful that he worked as a doctor, maybe he could smuggle some of the pre-natal vitamins for Brook. The young man seemed like he needed more nutritious food as well, maybe he could share some recipes with him.....

He had a lot to plan for, but there was a confident smile on his face now as he got back into his own apartment.